Live on £4000 for a year - Part 2

andromache_2

OMG! I'm really struggling to think of anything I've done that's even half as dangerous as these stories! Only once been in a car with about 11 people following a breakdown when we had to get to school... Guess I've been a victim of 'paranoid parenting'

Back at uni today... all unpacked, thought I had some chopped tomatoes left in the cupboard but apparently not, so I've had a rather weird supper as I couldn't make pasta sauce :rotfl: shopping tomorrow methinks! Going to have to start buying my own food again :rolleyes:

And bails, how lovely!

sophiesmum_2

Funny thing was once I had kids my parents turned into "paranoid grandparents". I think it was a sign of the times, I loved my 1960's 1970's childhood;)

looby-loo_2

Just catchingup - sophiesmum you so have the same ideas as me. I keep reading your posts and thinking 'I'm doing/done that'

I have a dehydrator and the best thing so far is drying the bags of cranberries I found reduced to 10p on Christmas Eve. DS2 puts them in cereal and I use them instead of dried fruit in muffins. Also bananas when I get 5lb for £1 on the market but I do wonder whether a very low oven would work just as well overnight?? I let chilli peppers dry in the greenhouse and I'm still using the last few

lettuce, peppers and courgettes coming up (only 2 courgettes, just to see if it was worth planting then really early) Tomatoes doing well 4" tall. No digging done for potatoes yet - very bad of me!

As for bottling be careful when trying to bottle veg - it can be done but there can be toxins which are not destroyed by heat so I have never risked it. Fruit is perfectly OK though. Something to do with the acid content of fruit makes it OK.

I bottle fruit in ordinary jam jars like larger pickle jars and they last for years. I have old jars which are a bit thicker, again, be careful because thin glass might break, I'm not sure. There are lots of recipies, close the lid but then unscrew it half a turn before putting it in the oven or it will explode!!! When they are done close the lid and let them cool. If the lid 'button' pops down it is sealed and safe.

Oh, and best news today:j :j :j free eat - a peasant brought round by my neighbour. It was just run over and still warm so nice and fresh and will do for Sunday lunch. (shame to waste it)

The cat brought back a headless youngish rabbit - but no, that would be going too far, but DS1 pointed out that I wont need to feed him this evening:rotfl: :rotfl:

No luck with gumtree yet my friend is always selling stuff on there. I'm going to look at ebid - that's a new on to me

ps Is it too late to eat Chelsea buns?

lingojingo

sophiesmum wrote: »

We used to play on a tarzan swing which was set over a 50ft drop over a river full of rocks:eek: . I can't remember anyone ever falling off though:D

We used to take a running jump over a river about 10 ft below, often had to scramble, up the far bank, but don't remember anyone actually falling in! we also balanced across a narrow pipe above the same river, don't know what the pipe was for but it was pretty scary on that!

sophiesmum_2

looby-loo wrote: »

Just catchingup - sophiesmum you so have the same ideas as me. I keep reading your posts and thinking 'I'm doing/done that'

I have a dehydrator and the best thing so far is drying the bags of cranberries I found reduced to 10p on Christmas Eve. DS2 puts them in cereal and I use them instead of dried fruit in muffins. Also bananas when I get 5lb for £1 on the market but I do wonder whether a very low oven would work just as well overnight?? I let chilli peppers dry in the greenhouse and I'm still using the last few

lettuce, peppers and courgettes coming up (only 2 courgettes, just to see if it was worth planting then really early) Tomatoes doing well 4" tall. No digging done for potatoes yet - very bad of me!

As for bottling be careful when trying to bottle veg - it can be done but there can be toxins which are not destroyed by heat so I have never risked it. Fruit is perfectly OK though. Something to do with the acid content of fruit makes it OK.

I bottle fruit in ordinary jam jars like larger pickle jars and they last for years. I have old jars which are a bit thicker, again, be careful because thin glass might break, I'm not sure. There are lots of recipies, close the lid but then unscrew it half a turn before putting it in the oven or it will explode!!! When they are done close the lid and let them cool. If the lid 'button' pops down it is sealed and safe.

Oh, and best news today:j :j :j free eat - a peasant brought round by my neighbour. It was just run over and still warm so nice and fresh and will do for Sunday lunch. (shame to waste it)

The cat brought back a headless youngish rabbit - but no, that would be going too far, but DS1 pointed out that I wont need to feed him this evening:rotfl: :rotfl:

No luck with gumtree yet my friend is always selling stuff on there. I'm going to look at ebid - that's a new on to me

ps Is it too late to eat Chelsea buns?

:eek: :eek: :eek: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
I hope you meant a pheasant:rotfl: :rotfl:

DdraigGoch

Bails [and anyone else it might apply to], there is such a thing as a Frugal Wedding. I know, 'cos I had one!

Basically, it being my second wedding and having more stuff than you would believe possible already. I asked for help rather than presents and ended up with people getting the hall ready for me, donating flowers, bringing huge numbers of cakes and biscuits, making the tea and coffee, making hundreds of sandwiches, making up hamburgers and cooking them for us, laying carpet, laying laminate flooring [both recycled, obviously!], painting, plumbing, electrics etc etc etc. And we all had a lovely time. My OH wore his normal clothes, the smart ones, and I wore a BNWT dress bought secondhand [she changed her mind about the dress ... before she wore it] from a wedding site - from £1440 down to £200 :T The vicar, as he's our chum, even married us for free!

It can be done - don't let the cost put you off, try looking at Ms Frugal's wedding thread.

Anyway, another NSD for me today - still doing the figures for the budget [it's GOT to work somehow!]

thanks for all your inspiration everyone:beer:

lingojingo

[quote=looby-loo;10147481
Oh, and best news today:j :j :j free eat - a peasant brought round by my neighbour. It was just run over and still warm so nice and fresh and will do for Sunday lunch. (shame to waste it)[/quote]

OMG all this frugality has turned looby-loo into a cannibal!!!!!:eek:
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

oh, you beat me to it Sophiesmum!

sophiesmum_2

On a serious note looby- loo I was doing a bit of reading about bottling in the early hours on some american sites and started getting put off bottling veggies when they were talking about botchulism and other nasties that you can get.
I have done some fruits in alcohol in the past they were okay so may look into doing the fruits:D

lingojingo

sophiesmum wrote: »

Funny thing was once I had kids my parents turned into "paranoid grandparents". I think it was a sign of the times, I loved my 1960's 1970's childhood;)

Me too. We used to go off all day in the holidays, all the kids in the street, the 'big' ones looking out for the'little' ones. Sometimes we went miles on our bikes, and our parents had no idea where we were :eek:

and most of us didn't have a phone in the house, never mind mobiles!!!

sophiesmum_2

Still on the self sufficiency drive I have just spent £4 on e bay ordering some kefir grains. I want to experiment with kefir probiotic drink and kefir cheese. I already make my own yoghurt but kefir grains last ages if you look after them well. It is also very good for you.Especially like the idea of the cheese:D

Need to go update my total again now:rolleyes: